Series I GS300 Sport

[eMJay]

I collected the car last night and it was lovely to drive on the motorway. Occasionally when I was driving around 60-70 though the steering wheel would judder, but not all the time, it was as if it was dependant on the road surface.

I'm going to get the wheels aligned anyway as it doesn't drive in a straight line when the steering wheel is dead centre, it veers off to the right slightly.

I checked through the service book and receipts again last night and the car appears to have all its history documented except for a couple of car sale receipts and its second MOT certificate is missing.

All in all I'm very happy. :D

[sjrainsford]

That's brill!

They are lovely to drive, and very relaxing! Problem is, that ain't brilliant after a couple of night shifts at work!!

I wouldn't say they're fast either, but have found they will eat most average boy racers off the lights!

[eMJay]

Now I've had the car a couple of days, and have used it on both the motorway and town driving, I have some observations and questions.

• Unfortunately the glove box is broken (pre my ownership): the small piece of plastic at the rear left that stops the glove box from opening too far has snapped off, but I have the broken part. A small problem that can be fixed.
  

• There is a very fine dent on the rear off-side at the edge of the door, it looks like a 4x4 door has dinked it in the past as it's too high for a regular car. It's not too bad and I could probably get it fixed.
  

• How long should the engine idle up for from a cold start?
  

• When driving quite slow and steering to almost full lock, e.g. parking, creeking noises come from the front of the car, my Dad says his does this too. Is this normal, what is it, should I be concerned?
  

• My car was sat out in the humidity yesterday so I thought I'd use the air con, as this is a luxury I've never had before, and it was just blowing air out the same temperature as with it off. I let it run for a while as I don't know how long it's been since it's been used, but to no avail. I tried it again later and it felt a bit cooler, but not to the the extent of my Dad's 1995 GS300 and it may have been because the outside temperature had dropped. The air con unit is working, I can here it running, so do I just need to get it re-gassed?
  

[ColinBarber]

The engine idles up for quite a while.

Get the aircon checked out. Sounds like it need a re-gas. Should start blowing cold air within 30 seconds of switching on.

[eMJay]

The engine idles up for quite a while.

My Nissan does this, but only for about 30 seconds. Is it okay to drive the car when it's idling up?

Get the aircon checked out. Sounds like it need a re-gas. Should start blowing cold air within 30 seconds of switching on.

It definitely wasn't doing that. Do you suggest I take it to Lexus to re-gas or elsewhere? Is this the type if service the discount would cover at a Lexus centre (I'll be going Gold very soon)?

[Tim750R]

Hi eMJay, I thought you had bought this from a dealer - shouldn't they sort out the A/C and the steering wheel vibes you are getting?

[eMJay]

Hi eMJay, I thought you had bought this from a dealer - shouldn't they sort out the A/C and the steering wheel vibes you are getting?

Good point. I've only ever bought privately so am in that mentality.

I'm used to fixing/sorting things out myself on my cars with my Dad's help, I trust him implicitly.

The steering wheel thing doesn't always happen and it's not really bad, it doesn't remind me of balancing problems on previous cars. It's as if it's dependant on the surface as opposed to the car. I need to take it out on a few different dual carriageways to test this.

[Tim750R]

I suppose it depends on the 'Dealer' - if it was a Lexus agent, I would have thought they should have checked the A/C before putting it up for sale. If its a trader, then who knows what sort of response you'll get from them or what sort of cheap bodge they might do to sort these problems in which case you might be better off sorting them yourself or by someone you can trust.

If the A/C compressor is kicking in, then it must have at least some gas in it. I have a local guy who will drain the system, pressure test, then refill with the correct volume of refrigerant and weight of oil and a dye (for future leak diagnosis) for about 70 quid + VAT. I'm sure there are many other similarly competitive places around near you.

The wheel wobble is an odd one which I used to get but seems to have disappeared now. I've heard everything form wheel balance, buckled wheels, warped disks, sticking brake pistons and upper wishbones to be the cause, so let me know when you find out which one is causing yours! :o

[KELLTINA]

I was told by an air con engineer that you must use the air con as regular as you can and it will never need regassing.

[mudzs]

you must use the air con regulary or the seals perish ,but it will still need regassing every now and then

[randyreindeer]

Its true about the aircon. It needs to be used quite often to keep it in tip top condition. I guess it only needs a quick regas which if it lasts another ten years should be fine.

I bet your wheel wobble is nothing more than a sticky brake caliper. Put your hand on each front wheel after a good long blast and see if one is hotter than the other. I would be very surprised if it was a warped disc because they are huge and it would take some heat to distort them.

You gotta realise that you will find some niggles and because its so quiet to drive, every noise you here will feel alien.

Enjoy what is probably one of the most underated drives this side of a ........ you decide. :P

[eMJay]

I have a member of my family who's got many contacts in the car trade so it shouldn't be much hassle or cost. I prefer sorting things out myself anyway.

I never noticed the steering wheel judder on the test drive, it was only on certain parts of the motorway on the drive home when I collected the car.

I took a friend on a test drive last night and made sure I went on a dual carriageway and I got to 60+ mph and the steering wheel was fine.

I had a pot stuck on the front nearside of my 300ZX about a year ago, it was only discovered during an MOT, but I never had any steering wheel judder, just worse alignment when holding the steering wheel dead centre.

I will probably check the pots anyway, it can't do any harm.

[eMJay]

I'm now a Gold Member. :D

[eMJay]

I used to have the EBC Greenstuff pads (front) on a previous car and am going to get a set for the Lexus (I love the lack of break dust from them), but at the time my other car was due discs so I got EBC Turbo Groove discs too. Are the Greenstuff pads okay to use with standard Lexus discs or should I replace these too?

EDIT: My question has been answered in the Gold Lounge.

[jim300sport]

I went to look at that Lblack Lexus owned by the valet compnay...at the time it was very tatty....the sun roof had been replaced, there was a dent in the quarterpanel and the boot plastic liner was broken and hanging off, the wheels were in average condition for the miles but the cup holder flew off like a frisbie when I opened it..mind you it was only about 6k I think so you get's what you pay for but the Black was nice. I ended up finding a 26k miles one owner series 1 sport in Glod with the huggy bear optional two tone beige and brown dash, retro baby. I love it. I'd wanted one since I sat in show car at the NEC in about 96/97 and I never forgot what a great car it was. Good luck with the search fella :D

[jim300sport]

sounds like the seller got most of it sorted by the time you got it...i've got a set of 4 centre hubs going for £20 if you want them might be good spares for you. I have to agree it's a great car and I see loads of guys at work rolling up in 30k Mercs and Bm's and think what's the point my ride is better in so many ways and only cost 8k...bit smug but hey we drive GS Sports!! Happy driving...J

[eMJay]

I went to look at that Lblack Lexus owned by the valet compnay...at the time it was very tatty....the sun roof had been replaced, there was a dent in the quarterpanel and the boot plastic liner was broken and hanging off, the wheels were in average condition for the miles but the cup holder flew off like a frisbie when I opened it..mind you it was only about 6k I think so you get's what you pay for but the Black was nice.

My Dad and I went over it with a fine tooth comb and were happy with it. I was surprised to see the alloys in as good a condition as they were after hearing many stories about how poor Lexus alloys can be (one was from a Lexus dealer too). It's in excellent condition really for its age and has a full service history, so I couldn't really ask for more.

I'm pleased with it and it's lovely to drive.